Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Railyards Awarded $17.9 Million

Both the city of Sacramento and The Railyards redevelopment project were awarded $17.9 million Proposition 1B transportation bond funds on Tuesday. The money will be used to extend 6th Street to the north and to construct a pedestrian tunnel at 7th Street. Construction of this portion of the project is slated to begin in 2009.

Back in July $47 million was awarded to the railyard redevelopment from the Proposition 1C bond program, the largest such award in the state.

Back in 2006 voters approved both Proposition 1B and 1C authorizing $2.85 billion in housing bonds for uses that included creating infrastructure and affordable housing near transit. The Sacramento Railyards development is said to be the largest urban infill project in the country. Plans ultimately call for creating a new neighborhood north on downtown Sacramento.

Project developer Thomas Enterprises commissioned a study that predicts the project will create 19,000 permanent jobs, 2,800 hundred annual construction jobs and result in an ongoing annual positive economic impact of $2.7 billion. Private investment in the project is expected to top $6 billion.